Traficom for good winter tyres to ensure safety

Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) said that good winter tyres are the most important safety feature in a car and urged the people to change tyres of their vehicles when the weather and conditions require it.

If so required by weather or road surface conditions, winter tyres must be used during the winter period from November to March, said Traficom in a press release on Friday.

Because the requirement of using winter tyres depends on weather and road conditions, drivers must pay close attention to driving conditions.

In Finland, cars and vans must be fitted with winter tyres during the period from 1 November to 31 March if the weather or road surface conditions so require.

The requirement to use winter tyres also applies to special purpose vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds, tricycles, quadricycles, and trailers with a total or connected mass exceeding 0.75 tonnes but not exceeding 3.5 tonnes.

Vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes have their own tyre requirements for the winter season.

“Non-studded winter tyres can be used more proactively without negative consequences. The optimal time for switching to studded winter tyres should be determined more carefully depending on when the weather turns wintry and how and when you need to use your car,” said Otto Lahti, chief adviser of Traficom.

The depth of the principal tread grooves of passenger car winter tyres must be at least 3.0 mm.

“Tyre condition has a major impact on road safety. In addition to tread depth and the condition of studs, it is also important to consider tyre age. The manufacturing year and week can be checked from the markings on the tyre sidewall. Depending on storage conditions, tyres tend to harden up and lose their grip in six years. Tyres are usually considered expired after ten years from the manufacturing date regardless of the conditions they have been stored in,” Lahti said.

In periodic road worthiness inspections, the tread depths of winter tyres must meet the minimum requirement from November to March. If a car is fitted with summer tyres, the depth of the principal tread grooves must be at least 1.6 mm.